The MDGs, agreed at a UN conference in New York in 2000, helped galvanise anti-poverty efforts by setting out eight goals, including one to halve the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day and who suffer from hunger. But with less than three years to go, many of the goals will be missed. Social inequality is also becoming a pressing issue following the Arab spring.

The advisory panel includes representatives of governments, the private sector, academia and civil society from rich and poor countries. It includes John Podesta, former White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, Yingfan Wang, a Chinese career diplomat on the advocacy group that promotes the implementation of the MDGs, and Andris Piebalgs, the EU's development commissioner. Twelve of the panellists are women.

Amina Mohammed, special adviser of the UN secretary general on post-2015 development planning, will serve in an ex officio capacity on the panel.

Representing academia on the panel are Abhijit Banerjee, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the co-author of Poor Economics.

Representing the private sector will be Paul Polman, chief executive of Unilever.

"I have asked my high-level panel to prepare a bold yet practical development vision to present to member states next year," said Ban. "I look forward to the panel's recommendations on a global post-2015 agenda with shared responsibilities for all countries, and with the fight against poverty and sustainable development at its core."

The panel's task is to come up with recommendations for a post-2015 development agenda, building on the MDGs and with a view to ending poverty. The agenda will be built on economic growth, social equality and environmental sustainability. The panel is expected to work closely with an intergovernmental group on the sustainable development goals, as agreed at the Rio+20 conference. The reports of both groups will be submitted to member states for their deliberations.

Andrew Mitchell, the UK's international development secretary, welcomed the naming of the panel, praising its expertise and diversity. "The prime minister will work with his two co-chairs and the panellists to lead an inclusive and transparent process which draws on the views and experiences of citizens, businesses, aid agencies and countries across the world," said Mitchell.

"This will need to build on the success of the millennium development goals, but also respond to the new global challenges of the 21st century by helping economies and societies to flourish and to free the poorest countries from poverty for good."

Not everyone was so enthusiastic. John Hilary from War on Want, the anti-poverty group, criticised the panel for being unrepresentative. "Ban Ki-moon has put together a panel of career diplomats, business leaders, politicians and professors," said Hilary, who strongly criticised the appointment of Cameron as co-chair. "Why is there no one at all from social movements, trade unions or people who are actually engaged in the struggle against poverty? Was there genuinely no room for a single representative from civil society? This is like having a panel to take forward women's empowerment composed entirely of men."

Brendan Cox, director of policy and advocacy at Save the Children, welcomed the appointment of the panel, but warned against a weak outcome. "The major danger that the panel must avoid is agreeing a watered-down framework containing no specific targets," he said. "To avoid this, the panel must ensure an open process that considers the views of people living in poverty and builds political support right from the start. It must also build on the successes of the MDGs, continuing to set and work towards measurable goals that mobilise commitment and ensure accountability, while taking into account emerging challenges, such as sustainability and the growing inequalities of the world."

The panellists

Fulbert Géro Amoussouga (Benin) Heads Benin's economic analysis unit of the president of the republic of Benin.

Vanessa Petrelli Corrêa (Brazil) President of the Institute for Applied Economic Research, which conducts research to support the design and implementation of governmental policies and development programmes in Brazil.

Yingfan Wang (China) Member of the secretary general's MDG advocacy group and a career diplomat.

María Ángela Holguín (Colombia) Foreign minister of Colombia.

Gisela Alonso (Cuba) President of the Cuban agency of environment.

Jean-Michel Severino (France) Former director general of the French development agency.